UK PM ‘open’ to formal apology for slave trade, rejects compensation

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he is “open” to the UK issuing a formal apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade but has ruled out financial reparations, Vanguard reports.

The Labour leader made the remarks on Saturday, days before a Commonwealth leaders’ summit in Antigua and Barbuda, as King Charles III tours the Caribbean.

“I want to express my sorrow and regret for the pain and suffering of so many millions and to recognise the way it still shapes our world today,” Burnham wrote in the Guardian newspaper.

He said his government wanted a “structured dialogue with those affected”. He added: “Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process and I am open to them.”

However, he rejected compensation. “I do not believe that is the right answer,” he wrote.

Britain has never formally apologised for slavery or agreed to pay reparations.